BENAHAVIS, Spain Spread over two valleys in the foothills of the Sierra
Bermeja on the bustling Costa del Sol is the Monte Mayor Golf &
Country Club, La Perla International Living's flagship resort development
in Spain.

Its centerpiece is a challenging 18-hole golf course that many experts
consider one of the most beautiful in Europe. Yet the majority of people
buying property - about 60 percent - have no intention of ever teeing
off.

Frank Copplestone, an investment banker from London, bought a four-bedroom
villa at Monte Mayor that was completed in December, and he has no plans
to ever play golf.

"I view the golf course almost as a garden," he said. "I'd
be very happy if no golf was ever played here at all."

Copplestone said he spent a year researching properties on the Costa
del Sol before settling on a vacation home at Monte Mayor. "It's
really like a well- appointed country club but with the privacy of a
villa in the mountains," he said. "I have a stressful job
and I want to go somewhere on the weekends to really relax and unwind."

Golf courses are the focal points for many luxury communities in places
as far-flung as Dubai, Egypt, Turkey, Poland and Portugal. Increasingly
developers have realized that potential buyers can be lured with manicured
lawns, beautiful views and resort-style living. Golf itself can be secondary.

At Monte Mayor, for example, some residents have been attracted by
the low density of the development. Spain, and particularly the Costa
del Sol, often produces developments covering what seems like every
inch of the property.

Only 46 percent of the 365 hectares, or 900 acres, at Monte Mayor will
be built on; the remainder will be used for the golf course and a "green
zone."

"We offer space, low density, nature and a diversity of facilities
within the project, such as a spa, golf, tennis, horses and a nature
reserve," said Lawrence Maeck, sales director for the project,
which is a 15-minute drive from Marbella.

Real estate experts said buyers can expect golf properties in Spain
to hold their value and, despite a general decline in returns, to increase
in value at least 15 percent a year, depending on the development. "I'd
say that the golf development investment is the safest in the industry,"
Maeck said.

Hayes also said that, in a competitive marketplace, a quality golf
course alone just does not cut it any more - tennis and other facilities
are just as alluring to many buyers.

"A lot of golf developments are calling themselves something else
so that they can play up the fact that they offer something more than
golf," he said. "Golf developments are calling themselves
'golf and leisure' resorts or 'golf and tennis' resorts or especially
'golf and spa' resorts because they've noticed that non- golfers are
increasingly interested in the properties," he said.

Monte Mayor's course, designed by José Gancedo of Spain, has
a special cachet. It was created in 1989 without the use of bulldozers,
utilizing the natural contours of the terrain to maximize the challenge
and avoiding the raw look of many new courses.

But there are at least 57 golf courses within a 30-minute drive of
Monte Mayor. So by the time it is completed in 2008, the project will
include a spa, a lake, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and
a 250-acre nature reserve.

Development has been similar at Pezula, a luxury residential project
with a championship golf course that is situated along South Africa's
celebrated Garden Route.

Even though Nick Price, the title-winning golfer from Zimbabwe, has
bought a home at Pezula, only about 25 percent of the buyers there are
golfers.

"There are plenty of other activities here. We have a spa and
gym. People can go kayaking or canoeing or horseback riding," said
Gary Muller, the South Africa-based sales director. "Golfing is
just one of the many amenities we have here."

Liam Bailey, head of residential research for the Knight Frank real
estate agency, said that even in places like Fiji, government officials
are encouraging the construction of golfing communities. "People
don't want the really high-density projects any more and are really
pushing the golf schemes," he said.

Bailey said they also represent a good opportunity for investors. "Good
developers know that they will have to spend a lot of money on continued
maintenance if they want to maintain a name for themselves and therefore
a buyer's investment is generally protected, because there is always
somebody looking after the environment," he said.